Exhibit Puts You In Navy

Science Museum Offers A Taste

June 24, 1994|By Ray Quintanilla, Tribune Staff Writer.

U.S. Navy SEALs jumped from a helicopter and stormed the Museum of Science and Industry to open a new naval exhibit. But it was a group of suburban children who felt they went on a real mission Thursday.

"It was worth it. I'm still feeling kind of groggy," said Carly Davis, 7, who had just completed a "bombing" mission in a F-14 Tomcat flight simulator as part of the museum's new $5.4 million "Navy: Technology at Sea" exhibit.

"I've never bombed anything before. It was kind of fun," she said, nodding her head to friends among the 200 children from a Downers Grove YMCA day camp.

Museum officials said the exhibit took four years to plan and another year to build. The exhibit was added to show the parts of three naval ships: the deck of the aircraft carrier U.S.S. George Washington; the control center in the destroyer U.S.S. Arleigh Burke; and the inside of the U.S.S. Chicago, a nuclear-powered attack submarine.

By next fall, the exhibit will add classes, beginning with youth training in sonar systems, map reading and magnetism. Officials expect to handle 500,000 visitors to the permanent exhibit in the next year.

"It was done up as a place to engage people's minds," Stephen Johnson, commander of the U.S.S. Chicago, said. "What's here will do that, and it's very realistic."

Museum officials downplayed the exhibit's role as a recruiting tool for the Navy, though the military donated periscopes, a jet fighter, de-activated rockets and $2 million in cash.

"It teaches visitors about the most current technological advancements, using the Navy as a showcase," Steve Bishop, a museum official who oversaw development of the exhibit. "We spent a lot of time to ensure this is a learning environment, and people get a real feel for what it's like on one of these vessels," he said.

That aside, it was the two flight simulators, holding up to 12 people each, that drew long lines. The small cabins twisted and bobbed during a flight to locate and destroy a Scud missile site. The flight film, shot along the California coast, was shown on a high-definition television screen that contributed to the passengers' screams and hoots.

From the first jolt, at takeoff, to the hard and bumpy landing, Iana Boneva, 6, kept her hands on the steel bar in front of her.

"I was holding on, because it started going higher and higher," she said. "I thought, maybe we were going to crash, but we didn't."

Museum officials said hands-on learning is very important for children, especially since Sega and Nintendo games have become so commonplace. At about $200,000 each, the simulators are better than any video game.

"We compete with (video games) to a certain extent. But here, they can learn something by using our system to navigate, find and eliminate an enemy submarine," Bishop said.

"Wow, you really have to hold on. You're dodging shots on the left and on the right," said Laura Ku, 7, a few moments after walking off the simulator.

As part of the naval exhibit, a photographic tribute to the all-black American air corps will run through Sept. 6. "Tuskegee Airmen" will feature photos shot during World War II and trace the achievements of African-Americans in flight through the 20th